"Why does the Princess wish it--that she may be a queen?"

"Yes, Ana, though were she to wed my cousin, Amenmeses, the son of
Pharaoh's elder brother Khaemuas, she might still be a queen, if I chose
to stand aside as I would not be loth to do."

"Would Egypt suffer this, Prince?"

"I do not know, nor does it matter since she hates Amenmeses, who is
strong-willed and ambitious, and will have none of him. Also he is
already married."

"Is there no other royal one whom she might take, Prince?"

"None. Moreover she wishes me alone."

"Why, Prince?"

"Because of ancient custom which she worships. Also because she knows
me well and in her fashion is fond of me, whom she believes to be a
gentle-minded dreamer that she can rule. Lastly, because I am the lawful
heir to the Crown and without me to share it, she thinks that she would
never be safe upon the Throne, especially if I should marry some other
woman, of whom she would be jealous. It is the Throne she desires and
would wed, not the Prince Seti, her half-brother, whom she takes with it
to be in name her husband, as Pharaoh commands that she should do.
Love plays no part in Userti's breast, Ana, which makes her the more
dangerous, since what she seeks with a cold heart of policy, that she
will surely find."